


In Memories We Remember

by Akiko_Natsuko



Series: I Take Pride in What I Am 2020 [12]
Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Dragons, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Grief/Mourning, Loss, M/M, Memories, Tartaros Arc (Fairy Tail)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-19
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:15:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24808378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Akiko_Natsuko/pseuds/Akiko_Natsuko
Summary: 'Please do not allow the majesty of the Fire Dragon King to be tarnished……There is no dragon braver, nor who loved humans more than Igneel…'And no one had loved Igneel like Natsu had.“Tell me about him.” The words slip out, too loud in the silence even though his voice had barely even been a whisper, and he knows that Natsu must’ve have heard him even though the Fire Mage doesn’t so much as blink at the words.
Relationships: Natsu Dragneel/Gajeel Redfox
Series: I Take Pride in What I Am 2020 [12]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1771147
Kudos: 47
Collections: I Take Pride in What I Am 2020





	In Memories We Remember

**Author's Note:**

> Please note that if you want to talk to me about my fics and writing, or anime/shows/games in general then you can now find me on discord [The Unholy Trinity](https://discord.gg/6sSddAWa5c).

Gajeel his tired. He aches, and not just from his injuries. His chest feels hollow, empty of something that he hadn’t even realised was there until it was too late. _Metalicana was right there,_ he can’t stop his hand from creeping up to his chest, resting over when the waves of pain had first emanated from. _And I didn’t know…_ None of them did, and he knows that, knows that they weren’t supposed to know. It doesn’t help, it doesn’t numb the feeling that he should have known, or the heaviness of grief and loss settling thick and heavy in his chest. He had said his farewells, managed to smile and stand tall, even as it hurt and tore at him inside, but now away from the others, he can’t hide from it anymore.

Still, it pales in comparison to what lays ahead of him, and he lifts his head, searching for the fading cloud of smoke and dust that marks where Igneel had fallen. _Natsu._ It had taken time to persuade the others not to go to him, to let him take care of it, and now that he’s nearly there he can’t help but wonder if he’s made a mistake because he doesn’t have the words for this. Doesn’t have the answers. Sure, they’ve both lost their Dragons, their foster-fathers, but it’s different so different and as his crests a small hill and sees the crater and the kneeling figure of his partner he falters.

_Natsu…_

He has seen Natsu in many states before, probably more than most people, because as open as Natsu is with everyone, there are parts of himself he hides. Doubts and fears…anger. Sometimes it had been about his hunt for Igneel, for any of the Dragons, and the continued failures, the emptiness, the fear of never being able to find them. Other times it had been quieter, more personal, little things that he didn’t want to show in public, but found the security to do so in the protective circle of Gajeel’s arms as they curled together, or sat with his nose buried in the crook of the Iron Dragon-slayer’s neck, hiding in the warmth of his scent. But, never like this, and there is something broken and vulnerable in the other Dragon-slayer’s form that hurts and takes his breath away, and there is a cold knot of fear in the pit of his stomach.

The fear of another loss.

The fear of losing Natsu too…

It’s fear more than anything that spurs him forward, as though if he reaches Natsu a little bit faster, it will be enough to stop him from breaking and slipping away. As though Natsu wasn’t already broken from watching Igneel fall, the fault lines already in place.

Happy is there too he realises belatedly, looking up at him with large, watery eyes. Begging him to fix this, to help Natsu. “I’ve got him,” Gajeel murmurs, hoping it sounds more confident than it feels, and it must because Happy nods and takes a shuddering breath of relief, urging him forward with trembling paws.

It feels like it takes a lifetime to reach Natsu, but it could only have been seconds, a dozen steps or so. Gajeel’s heart pounding in his ears, louder even than it had when the Dragons had emerged. He’s not the right person for this, always better at antagonising than offering comfort, even when his own chest is ragged with pain and hollow with the loss of Metalicana. But he’s the only one here, and Natsu is right there, shoulders drawn up as though to protect himself from the world. As though the world hadn’t already inflicted the worst wound it possibly could on his heart and soul, and then Gajeel is stepping forward.

“Natsu…” He’s not sure whether it’s the flinch, or the sight of the crater in front of them, empty now, but still enough to let him imagine what it must have looked like, that silences him. His voice shrivelling and dying, with the hard, painful thing in his chest, moving to kneel beside Natsu. Leaning forward to catch a peek at the other Dragon-slayer’s face, and the hard, painful thing becomes something more when he sees the tears on Natsu’s face, the pain etched into features that should always be happy and grinning.

_'Please do not allow the majesty of the Fire Dragon King to be tarnished…_

_…There is no dragon braver, nor who loved humans more than Igneel…'_

And no one had loved Igneel like Natsu had.

“Tell me about him.” The words slip out, too loud in the silence even though his voice had barely even been a whisper, and he knows that Natsu must’ve have heard him even though the Fire Mage doesn’t so much as blink at the words.

The silence stretches out, uncomfortable in a way that it has never been with Natsu before, even when they had been at one another’s necks. Gajeel shifted closer, closing the distance between them, wanting to at least be there even if his words weren’t enough, and it’s only when he presses into Natsu’s side, feels the warmth of his partner body and magic, that Natsu lets out a ragged, wet sounding sigh. “He…” Natsu’s voice was impossibly soft, a child whispering in the dark. “H-He…” Frustration bubbles up, rippling across his face, and bizarrely Gajeel is relieved to see it, because it’s a flicker of Natsu, of the fire burning beneath his skin. It’s gone in an instant though, and then he’s looking up at Gajeel with eyes that hold too much, and there’s something in the depths, a plea for something more.

Gajeel answers the plea, looping an arm around Natsu, feels the trembling beginning to spread through the other Dragon-slayer’s body and pulls him close. Let’s Natsu curl into him, resting his head on his shoulder, makes no effort to wipe away the tears or get them to stop, knowing that they need to fall. Instead, he leans his head against Natsu’s and waits, listening to the hitching breaths, the sobs that never quite bubble out and waits. Minutes trickle by, liquid and heavy at the same time, before Natsu manages a slightly deeper breath, still trembling and weeping, but gathering himself and then the floodgates break as he speaks in a soft, wavering voice.

“H-He…he destroyed a mountain once, trying to show me how to use my roar…”


End file.
